A pleasant reading experience stems from writing that flows. The "flow" of a piece of writing refers to its pace and rhythm. Writing a book with a natural flow will allow your readers to feel at ease with the text. Reading a book with a good flow shouldn't feel tedious or demanding, it should be fun! So how do you make your writing flow? To craft good writing that flows you need to focus on word choice, sentence structure, continuity, and coherence. To establish a story that flows sentence structure and continuity are essential. Texts without good flow feel choppy and lack cohesion. Creating a good flow for your novel can be difficult, so read along for 5 tips on how to get your writing to flow!
Include Transition Words
One of the most important tips is to use transition words. Transition words are words that smoothly connect different thoughts or ideas without page breaks or awkward jumps. To establish a good flow in your writing, you must use transition words to signal to the reader that two ideas are connected and related. While you incorporate transition words into your writing, remember to vary the transition words you include. Transition words a great for linking two sentences, but repeating the same word can get boring. There are thousands of transition words to choose from, but below I listed 15 of the most effective transition words to use:
Afterward
Also
But
Despite
Finally
Following
However
In addition to
Last
Nevertheless
Next
Then
Therefore
Relating to
Still
Ensure the Details are Consistent
It is essential to avoid a surplus of repetition, but it is equally important to have consistent details running throughout your story. When writing, ensure that certain details remain consistent with the setting or characters throughout the story. If you include themes that are prevalent throughout the story and you weave them into each scene, your plot is sure to feel cohesive. This is essential for maintaining writing that flows because consistent imagery and language help portray a picture for your readers and help your writing flow.
Vary the Sentence Length
You can create flow in your writing by breaking up the monotony of your sentence lengths by varying the sentence lengths you use. A combination of long and short sentences will give your writing a flow and rhythm because you eliminate repetition. Varying the lengths of the sentences in your novel will help move your writing forward. Plus, varying the sentence lengths in your story will ensure that your writing is coherent and reads easily. In conclusion, varying the sentence lengths in your novel, allows you to emphasize the points you find the most critical and most important.
Read Everything Aloud
Reading your story aloud will highlight problems in your story and help your writing flow. Often when reading out loud, you catch lines that you wouldn't have caught while reading your text in your head. It may help you identify hard-to-understand sentences, poor word choice, and sentences that don't flow together. When reading your story, it is best to read now and edit later. Although it is appropriate to edit minor details (i.e. misspelling or incorrect punctuation), you shouldn't edit major, big-picture mistakes. Reading your story out loud will help your writing flow.
Bridge Sentences with Pronouns & Pointing Words
A great way to make your writing flow is by bridging your sentences with pronouns. Pronouns like "she," "it," "he" and "they," will help create cohesion in your novel because they refer to previously stated nouns. Constantly reiterating the same nouns (called antecedents) will make your writing choppy and broken, which is why linking pronouns are vital. Pronouns will help two sentences flow together, as well as pointing words. Pointing words are words that point to the antecedents in a sentence. Some examples of pointing words are; these, that, those, this, and the. Pointing words are useful because you don't have to continuously mention the noun. Keep in mind, when using both pronouns and pointing words the reference to the antecedent should be direct and clear.
Good writing and an enjoyable reading experience are rooted in writing that flows. Writing that flows comes as a result of countless attention and editing regarding things like sentences and themes. While writing your novel, consider these five tips to help improve the flow of your piece of writing.
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